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| Federation of Engineering and Shipbuilding Trades | |
|---|---|
| Name | Federation of Engineering and Shipbuilding Trades |
| Founded | 1917 |
| Dissolved | 1984 |
| Location country | United Kingdom |
| Affiliation | Trades Union Congress, Labour Party |
| Members | 1,200,000 (peak) |
| Headquarters | London |
Federation of Engineering and Shipbuilding Trades was a British trade union federation representing unions in heavy industry, engineering, and shipbuilding. It served as a coordinating body linking unions such as Amalgamated Engineering Union, Transport and General Workers' Union, National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, GMB and industrial councils in ports like Port of London and shipyards on the River Clyde. The federation operated at the intersection of industrial relations and parliamentary politics, engaging with institutions including the Trades Union Congress, Labour Party, Board of Trade, and regional authorities such as Strathclyde Regional Council.
The federation was established in the context of wartime reorganization after World War I and industrial unrest exemplified by the 1926 United Kingdom general strike, drawing membership from craft unions like the Amalgamated Society of Engineers and mass unions such as the AUEW. During World War II it coordinated with ministries including the Ministry of Labour and National Service and engaged in wartime production disputes similar to cases involving Clydeside shipyards and Harland and Wolff. Postwar nationalization debates involving the National Shipbuilders Security Ltd and the National Union of Mineworkers shaped its role through the 1945 United Kingdom general election and the formation of the National Health Service. The federation confronted decline during deindustrialization in the 1970s and 1980s alongside events such as the Winter of Discontent and the policies of the Margaret Thatcher government, leading to mergers with bodies like the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions and eventual dissolution amid consolidation into larger unions like the Engineering Employers' Federation successor arrangements.
The federation's governance mirrored federal bodies such as the Trades Union Congress with an executive council, constituency committees for regions including Tyneside, Clydeside, and South Wales, and specialist committees on apprenticeship and safety interacting with agencies like the Health and Safety Executive. Affiliates included craft unions like the Boilermakers' Society and amalgamations such as the EETPU. Its secretariat collaborated with employers' associations such as the Engineering Employers' Federation and national employers' councils that arose from agreements like the Wages Councils Act 1945 negotiations. Annual conferences were held in industrial hubs including Birmingham, Glasgow, and Liverpool.
Membership drew heavily from male-dominated trades in shipbuilding, locomotive construction, and heavy engineering, concentrated in regions like Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, Govan, and Barrow-in-Furness. Demographic shifts mirrored migration patterns to metropolitan areas such as London and Manchester, and changing skill mixes due to automation influenced relations with apprentices from institutions like Technical Colleges associated with the Department of Education and Science. Female participation increased in wartime mobilization similar to patterns at firms such as Vickers and Armstrong Whitworth, while immigrant workers from Commonwealth of Nations countries affected union organizing comparable to campaigns led by the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination allies. Census-style membership reports tracked by the federation echoed statistics used by entities like the Office for National Statistics.
The federation coordinated industry-wide responses to actions such as coordinated strikes reminiscent of the 1972 miners' strike and the 1974 UK strikes, organizing sympathetic actions with unions like the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions and the National Union of Seamen. Campaigns targeted closures at shipyards such as Govan and Clydeside and against redundancies at firms like British Steel Corporation and English Electric. It engaged in wage negotiations influencing settlements comparable to the In Place of Strife debates and participated in national protests alongside bodies like the Trades Union Congress and demonstrations at Millbank and Downing Street.
Politically the federation cultivated ties to the Labour Party and had links with parliamentarians including MPs from constituencies like Newcastle upon Tyne East and Glasgow Govan. It lobbied ministers in departments such as the Department of Industry and submitted evidence to select committees in the House of Commons. During periods of left-right debate it interacted with groupings like the Communist Party of Great Britain and the SDP insofar as industrial strategy and candidate selection were concerned. Electoral strategies involved sponsorship of candidates, coordination with the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party, and participation in policy forums on nationalization and industrial policy that referenced reports from bodies such as the Royal Commission on the Press and the Monopolies Commission.
The federation operated through national and regional bargaining frameworks, interfacing with employers' federations like the Confederation of British Industry and negotiating multi-employer agreements akin to the Whitley Councils model. Sectoral agreements covered pay, hours, and apprenticeship terms, and the federation supported dispute resolution mechanisms similar to the Industrial Relations Act 1971 arbitration procedures. Major settlements affected companies such as Rolls-Royce and British Shipbuilders and were mediated by institutions like the ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service). Training and certification initiatives collaborated with bodies including the Engineering Council and technical panels influenced by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
The federation's legacy persisted in successor alignments and institutional memory within unions that became part of the Unite the Union and the GMB. Archives and papers relating to its activity are held in repositories similar to the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick and the National Archives (United Kingdom), and its industrial strategies influenced subsequent industrial policy debates involving the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and reports by the Taylor Review. Its historic role in shipbuilding and engineering is commemorated in regional museums such as the Riverside Museum and the National Maritime Museum and studied in scholarship published through outlets including the Economic History Society and universities like University of Glasgow and University of Manchester.